Just thought I'd veer off topic for a minute here to let you all know that I'm employed at one of the libraries deserving of "Special Mention" for the annual "Best Small Library in America" award! We were asked to apply for this honor last fall, and getting together all the necessary ingredients for submission was a challenge, to say the least. For someone with zero grant-writing experience, it was an eye-opener. I've never considered summery writing to be among my strong points, nor do I consider gathering lots of parts together to make a comprehensive whole a talent either. Somehow, all the elements came together and made sense to the folks at Library Journal and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation! While we didn't win the grand prize (the the $15000 that goes with it), being mentioned makes us feel pretty special. For those of you who have been to the Castleton Public Library, you are familier with it's "homey" size and atmosphere. For those of you who haven't- let's just say several Castleton Public Libraries could probably fit into your house!
Just knowing how hard we work at the library to reach out and be a big part of the community, I'm so glad that we have achieved recognition from such prestigeous organizations. It makes me feel personally like I was able to overcome a big hurdle by getting over my fear (I honestly get almost physically ill when I think of all the work that has to be done to put one of these things out) of doing this. I feel much more competitive now that we DIDN'T win- it makes me want to try to improve our presentation for next year.
I can also see the good that may hopefully come from this small recognition. Already we have some positive changes coming in. We may be able to use this achievement as leverage when going to politians to get some more money. There's talk of a special dinner with representatives from Upper Hudson and local government. All this is pretty exciting, we'll see how it all plays out. My biggest question right now is: What will I wear to such a thing???
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